Trump drops Hormuz fee plan for Gulf investment deals amid new Iran strikes

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he is withdrawing a proposal to impose a 20% transit fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, the U.S. will pursue trade and investment deals with Gulf states, a decision he attributed to "highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership."

The announcement came amid escalating tensions and renewed military actions. U.S. forces carried out strikes for the third night in a row after Iran claimed to have closed the vital waterway. Trump had previously responded by reinstating a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposing the fee. However, he clarified that the strait remains open to all traffic except Iran's.

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Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.

Iran reported new strikes and sirens on Qeshm Island, with a U.S. projectile reportedly hitting near a water and electricity facility on Kish Island. Further explosions were heard in Khuzestan province. Iran retaliated by attacking a U.S. Army base in Jordan with ballistic missiles. Jordan confirmed shooting down four missiles, and explosions were heard in Bahrain's capital after its forces reportedly engaged "hostile" aerial targets.

The proposed fee had faced significant opposition. The UN's International Maritime Organization stated it opposed any fees for internationally navigated straits, noting no legal basis for mandatory tolls. German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd called the idea "fundamentally wrong." Trump himself later expressed a dislike for the fee concept, stating countries preferred to invest in the U.S. instead.

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Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future.